Set in 1968 South Africa, the film begins with the horrors of apartheid and the imprisonment of the underground leader of the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela (Dennis Haysbert), on Robben Island. It continues by following the spiritual and psychological journey of James Gregory (Joseph Fiennes), a Caucasian Afrikaner who initially views all blacks as subhuman and has the ability to speak the native language, making a ideal candidate to serve as a prison guard to guard Nelson.